Thursday morning at Unconditional Surrender…the weather is clear, no breeze and 77 degrees already. A quick mile run to get the blood flowing produces a good sweat so I know what lays ahead. Two souls roll into the morning gloom to join me in defeating the darkness; Mopar and Papa Smurf. We go quickly cover the 5 core principles and disclaimers then stretch to loosen up. with only three Pax members this morning I decide to run Wednesday evening AO beatdown but instead of Golden Gate I choose diamonds. No bridge this morning because Papa Smurf wants to be near water.
We start a double time toward the marina and stop at the Marina Jack Sign and do SSH, Strawberry Pickers and Hilly Billy Walkers and then Double Time away some more. We find our first diamond and the Thang gets started.
Like the evening before, I will select the run distances and we will run a round of Mary at each stop. We move along the waterfront out just over a mile in distance hitting diamonds and then benches (one of my favorites) and we complete Decline/ incline merkins, Diamond merkins, Bulgarian Ball Busters, Flutter kicks, LBC, Tripe Lindsays, Step ups, Seal Jacks, Dips, etc. What ever we can muster up we use it against each other to sharpen each other. The workout stops are frequent at time times the run is longer and faster paces and times shorter to ramp uo the exercise portion of the beatdown.
We cover over 2 miles this morning and on the way back we finish at the entrance to do Knee to chest raises hanging from the Marina poles out front. Lastly we run all the way back to the statue for some dynamic stretching and cool down ( always part of a Coop beating) and we conclude with announcements, praises and COT. Off to Starbucks for a morning coffee and quick downtime with Papa Smurf.
Fabulous start to the day and the sun is starting to come up. On the morning of D-Day it felt good to be at the ceremonial statue yesterday morning reflecting on what that simple kiss embodied. How different the world would be today if not for the courage and sacrifice of the men on that day at Normandy. May God always keep them close and continue to guide us with the knowledge, skill and determination to be the best we can be everyday.
Coop Out, Airborne!
